Charles Darwin is often associated with his observations of the finches on the Galápagos Islands, which played a significant role in the development of his theory of natural selection. While he did not ‘discover’ these animals in the traditional sense–the finches were already known to the locals–he studied their variations and adaptations meticulously.
Darwin noticed that different species of finches had unique beak shapes and sizes that corresponded to their specific feeding habits and the types of food available on their respective islands. This observation led him to conclude that species evolve over time through a process driven by natural selection. Hence, although Charles Darwin did not discover a single new animal, his work with the Galápagos finches significantly contributed to our understanding of evolution and the diversity of life on Earth.